In the long history of the Qing Dynasty, the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong all faced a thorny problem, that is, the Dzungar Khanate, which gave them a headache.
This force was a difficult task for these three emperors, who fought together for more than 70 years, from the Kangxi era to the Qianlong era, and invested not only huge amounts of wealth, but also paid countless human costs before finally quelling the threat of the Dzungar Khanate.
What is less well known, however, is that between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungars, as early as eighty years before the outbreak of the first war (1690 AD, the 29th year of Kangxi), the Dzungars were only a relatively medium-sized Mongol tribe.
At that time, even if all the men in the tribe were gathered together, it was difficult to form a cavalry force of more than 10,000 people.
However, in just 80 years, the Dzungars quickly rose from an obscure tribe to a vast nomadic empire, which also became a huge concern for the Qing emperors.
This history shows us the rise of the Dzungar Khanate and the great efforts of the Qing Dynasty to solve this problem.
The rise of Dzungaria stems from the historical background of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
Originally, the predecessor of Dzungaria was the Warat Department (i.e., Oirat Mongolia, now known as Moxi Mongolia) that fought against the Ming Dynasty. However, with the weakening of the Warat power, by the early Qing Dynasty, the Warat tribe had become one of the four major tribes: the Turghut tribe, the Heshute tribe, the Dulbert tribe and the Dzungar tribe. Of the four, the head of the Hoshute tribe, which was revered as the "Oirat Khan" because of its vast territory and large population, was at the end, while the Dzungar tribe was at the end.
According to the normal trajectory of development, considering the situation of the Dzungar Ministry at that time, even if there was development, it could only improve slightly in the ranking, far from the possibility of building an empire. However, two events occurred at the beginning of the 17th century that completely changed the course of this history.
First, the Turkuts moved westward. Due to the unprecedented drought at the northern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, which has led to the continuous degradation of grasslands, Mongolian tribes are faced with the dilemma of "more people and less land, and nowhere to graze". To solve this problem, the Dulbert Ministry first took action, planning to go north in search of new pastures. However, they soon faced the threat of Tsarist Russia, unable to contend with it, and the plan failed. In order to survive, they turned their attention to their former neighbors, the Turks.
With the outbreak of war between the Dulbert and Turghut tribes, the Dzungar tribes chose to support the Dulbert tribe because they shared a common ancestor. The war led to the westward relocation of the Turks to the Volga Valley, and the tributes were subordinated to the Russians, and the lands were eventually divided after the war.
This was the first step towards the growth of the Dzungar Ministry and laid the foundation for its rise.
In addition, in the face of the continuous degradation of the grasslands, the leading department of Oirat Mongolia, the Heshute Division, adopted a different strategy from the internal strife and chose to take the initiative to migrate. They fled to the Tibetan Plateau, where they established the vast Hoshut Khanate. Due to the grandeur of their "new home", the tribesmen of the Hoshute tribe gradually left their "homeland" of Oirat Mongolia, leaving only a small number of them.
As a result, only the Dzungar and Dulbert divisions remained in the entire Oirat Mongols. Then, with the death of the head of the Dulbert department, there was an internal struggle for power. The chief's brother and the chief's son fought fiercely over turf, causing the ministry to eventually fall apart. Some of the tribesmen chose to go north to join the Turghut tribe, while others were attached to the Dzungar tribe.
This series of changes made the entire Oirat Mongolia evolve from the original four tribes to the pattern of Dzungar dominance. From this process, we see that Dzungar gradually emerged from the low-ranking tribe of the original Oirat Mongols to become the dominant force. Although there are some factors that are favorable in time and place, it is undeniable that the Dzungar Ministry is indeed good at seizing opportunities.
Subsequently, Dzungaria embarked on a journey of expansion and growth. In 1634, the head of the Dzungar tribe, Halakura, died, and his eldest son, Batur Huntaiji, succeeded him as the new head of the Dzungar tribe. In the history of the rise of the Dzungar Ministry, Batur Huntaiji played a crucial role and can be called the founder.
Batur Huntaji is not his real name, but his title. His full name is Choros Heduo Heqin, while "Batur" means "warrior" in Mongolian, and "Huntaiji" is a title that can be understood as "prince".
The meaning of the entire title is "Warrior Prince", which shows that he is extraordinary. In fact, before he succeeded him, he had some remarkable deeds.
In 1616, the young Batur Huntaiji separated from his father and lived alone according to the traditional Mongolian Xi. After the separation, he chose to live on the banks of the middle reaches of the Irtysh River, mainly because there was a salt pond there.
Salt ponds were a natural source of salt, and at that time, the importance of salt can be imagined, especially for nomads, and its value was incomparable.
However, as the so-called Huaibi is guilty, guarding the salt pond attracts pretenders. At that time, the location of the salt pond was not far from the territory of Tsarist Russia, and Tsarist Russia saw the opportunity to do so, and sent people to plunder frequently.
One or two may not be surprising, but when the number increases, Batur Huntaji is very troubled. In order to solve the problem once and for all, he gathered more than 200 warriors, first set up an ambush and successfully annihilated the Russians who came to plunder the salt lake, and then took the initiative to attack and destroy the Russian strongholds in Siberia. These actions demonstrated his decisiveness and courage.
Even more forceful, whenever Batur Huntaiji destroyed a Russian stronghold, he made bold statements, warning the Russians not to try to seize the salt lake again, otherwise they would pay a heavy price.
In this case, the Tsarist side of Russia really could not compete with Batur Huntaiji. In the end, representatives of the two sides discussed and decided to jointly develop and utilize the salt lake. In order to compensate for the losses of Tsarist Russia, it was also proposed to allow the tribesmen of the Dzungar tribe to trade all kinds of goods in Tyumen.
This agreement provided a large amount of supplies to the Dzungar Ministry** and laid a solid foundation for its rise.
Overall, Batur Hunteiji was not only a fierce military general, but also a visionary leader. During his reign, he not only actively developed the handicraft industry and fundamentally improved the equipment of the army, but also laid the foundation for the rapid rise of the Dzungar Ministry through internal unity and avoidance of starting a civil war.
With the death of Batur Hunteiji, he was succeeded by his son Sangha, continuing his father's policy. It is worth mentioning that although the Dzungar tribe has long been the dominant force of the Oirat Mongols, neither Batur Huntaiji nor Sangha has fought for the title of "Oirat Khan". On the contrary, they continued to maintain good relations, especially with the Heshute tribe who had traveled far away from the Tibetan Plateau.
This prudent approach, as if "accumulating grain and slowing down the king", also maintained internal stability for Oirat Mongolia for a long time. A stable environment is the key to development, so the rapid development of the Dzungar Ministry is inseparable from this strategy.
Of course, although Batur Huntaiji and Sangha contributed to the development of the Dzungar tribe, if they had continued in this direction, the Dzungar tribe might eventually be just a large Mongol tribe rather than a real empire.
However, one figure changed all that. This person is Galdan, who was regarded as a great trouble by Emperor Kangxi in "Kangxi Dynasty", that is, the fifth son of Batur Huntaiji and the younger brother of Sangge.
Galdan showed a different side as a teenager. According to historical records, his father, Batur Huntaiji, intended to pass on the throne to him. However, the young Galdan humbly stated that his elder brother was still alive and well, and suggested that he should inherit the throne.
Subsequently, Galdan chose to become a monk, and his elder brother Sangha became the head of the Dzungar tribe. This humility in the face of the throne was a sign of his extraordinary potential, which was later confirmed.
After being ordained, Galdan became the fifth and began to practice Tibetan Buddhism. During this period, Galdan established a deep teacher-student relationship with the Fifth Emperor**. However, at that time, Galdan did not devote more energy to his studies, but liked the military and **, in short, a young man who was not very peaceful.
In 1670 A.D., there was a major change in the home of Galdan. His elder brother Sang, who had already succeeded to the throne of the Dzungar tribal chieftain, was killed by his half-brother Chechen Taiji. This incident led to internal turmoil in Dzungaria, coupled with the instigation of Chechen Taiji, Dzungaria fell to the brink of **.
After learning the news of his brother's killing, Galdan, who was far away, immediately returned to Dzungaria. After returning to Dzungaria, Galdan quickly presented himself as a general full of strategy and good at fighting, and made a powerful counterattack against the killing of his brother.
First of all, he gathered and gathered more than 1,000 people from the rest of his brother's army. Subsequently, Galdan personally led this force straight to the territory of Chechen Taiji.
When Chechen Taiji learned that Galdan had come for revenge, he arrogantly dismissed it. After all, he has more than 10,000 elite cavalry under his command.
However, as soon as the two sides clashed, Chechen Taiji's smile quickly faded. Galdan "took the lead, crossed the horse and raised the spear, went deepest, and killed a hundred and ten horsemen". Under his fearless influence, his men also quickly went into battle and made a concerted effort to kill in the direction of Chechen Taiji.
In the end, Galdan led a team of more than 1,000 people, as well as his own fighting style of not afraid of death, successfully defeated the army of more than 10,000 people in Chechen Taiji, and Chechen Taiji himself was also killed in the battle.
This victory established Galdan's leadership position in the Dzungar Ministry. Subsequently, according to tradition, Galdan married Anukodun, the widow of his elder brother Sangha, and relied on the power of his mother's family to become the new head of Dzungaria.
After serving as the leader of Dzungaria, Galdan began to rectify the interior, and it is recorded in historical records that he "recruited and surrendered, courteously conspired with ministers, suitable for the soil, taught farming and animal husbandry, revised laws and regulations, believed in rewards and punishments, and treated war and offensive equipment". As a result, the Dzungar Ministry has greatly increased its strength in a short period of time.
The increase in power attracted more and more people to join them, which led to a sharp increase in the population and territory of Dzungaria.
By 1673 A.D., with the annexation of some of the original Heshute tribes and the Tuerhut tribes, coupled with the later pacification of Durbot, Huite and other Moxi Oirat tribes by Galdan, the entire Oirat Mongolia was basically controlled by Galdan.
Then, in 1679, Galdan led an army of 30,000 to occupy Hami, subdued Turpan, and even extended the peak to Ganzhou (present-day Zhangye, Gansu) for a time.
And in 1680, at the invitation of his mentor V**, Galdan marched to Kashgar and Yarkand in Xinjiang, and finally swept through southern Xinjiang, leading to the destruction of the original Yarkand Khanate.
Galdan originally planned to march into Qinghai after the victory in southern Xinjiang, but because the Qing army had a strong defensive line in the area at that time, Galdan realized that he was not the opponent of the Qing army at the moment after several attempts, so he chose to withdraw.
In the same year, the whole of Xinjiang was brought under Galdan's rule.
Galdan's success marked the emergence of the originally scattered Oirat Mongols into his sphere of influence, and even Xinjiang was under his control. In this context, the 5th ** personally canonized Galdan as "Boshoktu Khan" and presided over a grand ceremony. This ceremony meant that the historical term "Oirat" was withdrawn from the stage and replaced by the "Dzungar Khanate".
What was once a small and medium-sized nomadic tribe is now a nomadic empire.
After becoming the leader of the nomadic empire, Galdan continued to expand in different regions. In 1683, he attacked Kazakhstan, and in order to force it to surrender, Galdan sent an envoy to the Kazakh head Khan to issue a stern warning.
If you do not surrender, I will raise troops every year from now on. I will destroy your crops in the summer, and I will set fire to your fields in the fall. I'm not yet forty years old, and I'm going to keep beating you until my hair turns gray and my teeth fall out. ”
Eventually, in 1684, Galdan managed to defeat the Kazakhs and capture the son of Toukhan as a hostage. Thus, the Kazakh region became part of the territory of the Dzungar Ministry.
In addition, Galdan fought several wars involving the Nogai people along the Syr Darya River, as well as the Bruts and Uzbeks in Ferghana.
As a result of the constant conquests, the territory of the Dzungar Khanate continued to expand. By the end of the 70s of the 17th century, its territory had extended from the North Om River to the south of Lake Balkhash and the Ob River in the east. The area under actual control amounted to 4 million square kilometers.
This is a huge area equivalent to two and a half parts of present-day Xinjiang, and the population of the Galdan period once exceeded 3 million.
However, even so, Galdan did not stop the pace of foreign conquest, because in the south of him, there was a huge empire, and that was his ultimate goal - this empire was the Qing Dynasty.